help my 1983 venture has a cracked frame

[Guest joel morgan]

does anyone know if my frame where the swing arm and centerstand connect could be welded ? I will greatly appreciate any advise

 

 

thank you joel morgan

[Rocket]

does anyone know if my frame where the swing arm and centerstand connect could be welded ? I will greatly appreciate any advise

 

 

thank you joel morgan

 

Yup & here is the link..........

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1521

[Venturous Randy]

Thanks for the help Rocket.

Joel, first of all, this is not the end of the world on your bike. It takes a bit of work to fix it, but it can be stronger than new, unless it was just plain rusted out. I had this happen over two years ago on my 83 and I have since put about 15,000 miles on it and feel it is doing great.

As I noted, it is a bit of work on the way I did it, but by turning it upside down, you can get to everything a lot better and pull things back in place better. If you drain the engine oil and the radiator reservoir, I believe you can diassemble the rear end of the bike, rear wheel, swingarm, seat, mufflers, gas tank and remove rear frame assembly. I then rolled the bike over backwards and sit the handlebars on 4X4's and strapped it on a trailer. I have more pictures that are in other posts or I can repost them. I was lucky in having a welder friend that helped as most any welding business would not want to take on the liability.

I remember sitting on a picnic table looking at my beloved 83 thinking that it was history. After I fixed it and repainted it, it ended up being the January bike on our 07 VentureRider calender.

I will try to answer any questions and would love to help you fix it, but CA is a long ride from TN.

RandyA

[igya]

does anyone know if my frame where the swing arm and centerstand connect could be welded ? I will greatly appreciate any advise

 

 

thank you joel morgan

 

I don't know about you, but to me, the beloved VR seems to be a member of a family with an awful lot of issues to deal with. 2nd gears, cracked frames, bad solder connections. wow, I don't know if I made the right choice or not. I would appreciate a little encouragement here. I'm getting a little nervous.

[Rocket]

I don't know about you, but to me, the beloved VR seems to be a member of a family with an awful lot of issues to deal with. 2nd gears, cracked frames, bad solder connections. wow, I don't know if I made the right choice or not. I would appreciate a little encouragement here. I'm getting a little nervous.

 

Frame issue is '83 ONLY............. The solder connections, should be considered, a given, after all these years (usually a simple fix). 2nd gear was an oops, probably discovered, after a few on the first Vmaxs blew.

 

BTW, mine is nicknamed Deer Hunter for a reason, killed a deer with it. I put about 20,000 Miles on it since March of last year & 10,000 Kilometers between the international meet & Pork in the Pines rally (as measured by GPS).

Edited September 11, 2008 by Rocket

[Dano]

Anything that is 20+ years old is going to have some issues, got a 65 Corvair and a 79 Camaro sitting in the driveway that need WAY more work than my Venture. But I wouldn't hesitate to jump on it and take it a 1000 miles for a ride. How good do YOU feel for your age?

 

LOL

 

Dan

[igya]

Anything that is 20+ years old is going to have some issues, got a 65 Corvair and a 79 Camaro sitting in the driveway that need WAY more work than my Venture. But I wouldn't hesitate to jump on it and take it a 1000 miles for a ride. How good do YOU feel for your age?

 

LOL

 

Dan

 

I guess my two '74s (34 yrs. old), '77 & '83 Yammies have spoiled me. No issues at all. Solid machines and never a worry. Oh well, not trying to start an argument, just a little disappointed that no more testing was done on a machine that I enjoy so much. And yes, I'm keeping it until the wheels rot off.

[igya]

Frame issue is '83 ONLY............. The solder connections, should be considered, a given, after all these years (usually a simple fix). 2nd gear was an oops, probably discovered, after a few on the first Vmaxs blew.

 

BTW, mine is nicknamed Deer Hunter for a reason, killed a deer with it. I put about 20,000 Miles on it since March of last year & 10,000 Kilometers between the international meet & Pork in the Pines rally (as measured by GPS).

 

I hope you're right about '83 frames. I have an extra 1300cc engine and solder is cheap. The frame issue is what made my sholders drop. Mine is an '85, but I'd sure like to know what changes were made to beef up the frame.

[Rocket]

I hope you're right about '83 frames. I have an extra 1300cc engine and solder is cheap. The frame issue is what made my sholders drop. Mine is an '85, but I'd sure like to know what changes were made to beef up the frame.

 

Randya is the expert on this one, but my understanding of it, a bad weld is to blame & some have beefed up the area too, during repair. One thing that doesn't help is where someone rotates the scoot, when sitting on the centre stand & no wheel mod done to it. This will put additional twisting stress on the frame in that area.

 

[igya]

Thanks for the help Rocket.

Joel, first of all, this is not the end of the world on your bike. It takes a bit of work to fix it, but it can be stronger than new, unless it was just plain rusted out. I had this happen over two years ago on my 83 and I have since put about 15,000 miles on it and feel it is doing great.

As I noted, it is a bit of work on the way I did it, but by turning it upside down, you can get to everything a lot better and pull things back in place better. If you drain the engine oil and the radiator reservoir, I believe you can diassemble the rear end of the bike, rear wheel, swingarm, seat, mufflers, gas tank and remove rear frame assembly. I then rolled the bike over backwards and sit the handlebars on 4X4's and strapped it on a trailer. I have more pictures that are in other posts or I can repost them. I was lucky in having a welder friend that helped as most any welding business would not want to take on the liability.

I remember sitting on a picnic table looking at my beloved 83 thinking that it was history. After I fixed it and repainted it, it ended up being the January bike on our 07 VentureRider calender.

I will try to answer any questions and would love to help you fix it, but CA is a long ride from TN.

RandyA

 

How 'bout it Randy, I here tell that you have the scoop on cracked frames. Was that still a problem after '83?

[Dano]

No, the frame cracking was an 83 problem only, my 84 has extra gusset plates from the factory. I added two 3/8's rods as additional, along with solid Delrin motor mounts when I rebuilt mine this past winter.

Remember, Yamaha probably didn't know what power would come out of this bike, and how people would operate it. Most all problems were cured by 85 for the redesign for 86 (detuned(altho slightly) engine? Diferent power curve?). Also, the MK1's were the engine of choice for the first VMaxxes. They didn't change this motor till the new 200 hp motor came out this year. MK1 engine cases are a favorite of the Max guys for a built up engine.

MamaYama moves slow, but most of the time (sorry 2nd gennners ) she moves in a good direction. The company's base is in racing, sport and dirt bikes. Touring probably falls along with just filling out the product line to cover all the bases.

 

JMHO

 

Dan

[bongobobny]

As far as the 2nd gear issue, that was fixed on the later '85s. I'm not sure what serial number was the change, but I believe that info is somewhare on the site. Only the early 85s still had that problem. If you have over 50K on the bike and 2nd is not acting up then you're probably OK.

 

These bikes will go well over 100,000 miles and are the most comfortable bikes around. Not that hard to work on them in general either...

[igya]

No, the frame cracking was an 83 problem only, my 84 has extra gusset plates from the factory. I added two 3/8's rods as additional, along with solid Delrin motor mounts when I rebuilt mine this past winter.

Remember, Yamaha probably didn't know what power would come out of this bike, and how people would operate it. Most all problems were cured by 85 for the redesign for 86 (detuned(altho slightly) engine? Diferent power curve?). Also, the MK1's were the engine of choice for the first VMaxxes. They didn't change this motor till the new 200 hp motor came out this year. MK1 engine cases are a favorite of the Max guys for a built up engine.

MamaYama moves slow, but most of the time (sorry 2nd gennners ) she moves in a good direction. The company's base is in racing, sport and dirt bikes. Touring probably falls along with just filling out the product line to cover all the bases.

 

JMHO

 

Dan

 

Oh man, I LOVE this '85 and you don't how much I'm relieved to hear about the frame improvments. Now I can start sleeping in my bed again rather than on the garage floor with a flashlight in my hand. Watching for frame cracks to develop is a lot like watching paint dry. THANKS GUYS!!!

[Venturous Randy]

I think the 83's have less gussets and stuff to save weight, because they were a lot faster!!!

RandyA

[shighley]

Hi All; My frame broke yesterday morning on my way to work. Scared the you know what out of me. So, now it's down to tearing the thing apart and finding someone who will repair it. My question is did Yamaha ever recall the '83's for this problem? Anybody have an idea of how many failures have happened? I had checked the area for cracks/rust at each rear tire change and it always looked good.

I thank the good Lord that it failed on straight and level highway. 1 minute before I was in the twisty section of Ortega highway and am sure I'd be in the hospital if it had let go then. What's the old saying about God looking over children and fools?

RandyA, thanks for the excellent pictures. I plan on showing them to the welder. Best regards, Steve

[Neil86]

Steve...

from what I remember, Yamaha changed out failed frames to original owners...as this happened quite a while after the warranty expired.

[Poledar]

Just in case, I have an '87 frame for sale. Asking price is $150 and you make the arrangements for and pay for the shipping. If interested, contact me at:

GMTA@sccoast.net or 843-222-5137.

 

Bill Darling

POLEDAR:bagpipes-emoticon:

[Venturous Randy]

RandyA, thanks for the excellent pictures. I plan on showing them to the welder. Best regards, Steve

 

You are welcome Steve. Did you find some more pictures? I have more and they give better detail.

RandyA

[shighley]

RandyA; I sent you a PM asking for more pictures. Thanks again for the help! Switching from riding the Venture to the KZ650 takes a little adjusting! This is a really good reason to clean the garage and make space for the hundreds of thousands of bits and pieces of the Venture. Ha I'm thinking when I'm done with this repair and considering I did the 2nd gear repair, I will know the beast inside and out. Best Regards, Steve